What’s the difference between a soil test and tissue testing? It’s pretty simple — soil tests measure available nutrients while tissue tests assess nutrient uptake and utilization. Growers use both practices to manage crop nutrients and understanding the nuances of each method plays a key role in ensuring crops have timely access to nutrients, say… Read More
Category: Soil Microbiology
Better together. That’s a simple way to describe what happens when micronutrients and biostimulants join forces to alleviate plant stress. In this report from the Ontario Soil and Crop Improvement Association’s MicroSmart Deep Dive meeting in Kingston, Ont., Agro-100 research and development director Pierre Migner and RealAgriculture’s Bernard Tobin explore the biostimulant-micronutrient connection and how… Read More
Ontario’s relatively youthful soils are less prone to micronutrient deficiencies, but there are situations where soil characteristics can lead to low levels of key micros in farm fields, says University of Guelph associate professor Dr. John Lauzon. Speaking at the Ontario Soil and Crop Improvement Association’s MicroSmart Deep Dive meeting in Kingston, Ont., Lauzon noted… Read More
When it comes crop nutrition, the macronutrients dominate both the management discussion and the fertilizer bill. That focus is certainly justified as primary macronutrients — nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium — play a critical role in ensuring a successful crop. Farmers are also rewarded when they pay attention to secondary macronutrients, including sulphur, calcium and magnesium…. Read More
Grandmother’s garden is often the first place that children learn about the benefit of having worms in the soil. They learn from an early age that you don’t throw worms away, you put them back into the ground where you found them, says Mike Launer of Annelida Soil Solutions. Annelida has created a business out… Read More
The microbiomes of animals, on and in crops, and in soil and water are incredibly complex that are intricately interconnected, with each influencing the others in various ways. Dr. Tim McAllister, principal research scientist with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, has spent nearly a decade studying microbiomes, referring to them as the one health microbiome or… Read More
Could everyday consumer waste be an effective soil amendment that promotes a healthy microbial soil community and contribute to productive and profitable crops? There’s a growing body of scientific evidence that supports the practice and research being conducted by the University of Alberta’s Dr. Derek MacKenzie is poised to share new understanding of how waste… Read More
New information is continually emerging about the interactions occurring beneath our feet. The science of soil is constantly evolving, with new insights into how billions of bacteria, fungi, nematodes, and protozoa interact with plants, the nutrients available in the soil, and the potential amount of carbon that can be sequestered. While soil sampling is a… Read More
It’s World Soil Day. December 5, the international day to celebrate soil, was first recommended by the International Union of Soil Sciences in 2002. This year, the theme is ‘Caring for soils: measure, monitor, manage.’ With over 95 per cent of our food coming from the soil and soil supplying 15 of the 18 naturally… Read More
There is a lot more going on beneath our feet than what meets the eye. Soil is home to billions upon billions of microbes that benefit plants. Beneficial bacteria and fungi are constantly interacting with plants and helping them to access nutrients, water, and other things that they might need within the growing cycle, explains… Read More